An insight into the role of fruit maturity at harvest on superficial scald development in ‘Beurré D’Anjou’ pear

• Early harvested pears (H1) were less sensitive to superficial scald.
• Differences in fruit sensitivity to scald were related to ethylene production.
• α-farnesene accumulated in an ethylene-independent way.
• Superficial scald was related to changes in the antioxidant potential during storage.

To assess the influence of the fruit maturity at harvest on superficial scald incidence, ‘Beurré D’Anjou’ pears were harvested on January 24 (H1); February 7 (H2) and February 21 (H3). Ethylene production, α-farnesene (AF), conjugated trienols (CTols) content and total antioxidant capacity (DPPH) were determined at harvest and during storage and further related to superficial scald (SS) development. Early picked fruit (H1) had significantly lower scald incidence than H2 or H3. The difference in scald sensitivity between harvests was associated to the capacity of the fruit to produce ethylene and to the accumulation pattern of AF and CTols, which in turn was not exclusively ethylene-dependent. Collectively the results presented herein showed that the relationship between scald and maturity in ‘Beurré D’Anjou’ pears may be opposite to that observed in apples. Changes in the fruit antioxidant capacity during storage rather than the initial antioxidant potential at harvest should be considered to fully understand the biochemical basis of superficial scald in ‘Beurré D’Anjou’ pears.